There is a Growing Trend of the 120 Pound Prius Batteries Being Stolen and Sold on the Black Market

In San Francisco, more and more Prius owners are walking up to their cars only to find windows smashed, cords cut, and their car batteries stolen.

What police, Prius owners, and even dealership owners are having are hard time figuring it is just how thieves are managing to steal the batteries, which weigh approximately 120 pounds, in around 20 minutes?

Previously, it took a trained professional about an hour to remove the same Prius batteries from the vehicles.

Generally, people who purchase hybrid cars are trying to save money on gas costs so it is extremely unfortunate if you are one of the people who has experienced this new battery theft phenomenon.

Reason being, official replacements will cost you about $3,000 while second-hand batteries are reportedly going for under $1,000 on Craiglist.

It is worth noting that this battery theft trend is not limited to San Francisco, with the NYPD reporting 14 incidents of hybrid battery theft since November 2014. Also, numerous incidents have taken place in Sacramento, an hour and a half drive from San Fran.

Hopefully, this is simply an obstacle hybrid vehicles will need to overcome and not a trend that will continue to take place.

It would definitely be odd to see the next Prius come equipped with reinforced glass or something to discourage thieves from attempting to steal the batteries in the first place.